


Apollo's Story

by qunqun



Category: Leverage
Genre: Character Study, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-01
Updated: 2017-10-01
Packaged: 2019-01-07 19:31:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,807
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12239259
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/qunqun/pseuds/qunqun
Summary: So I was rewatching the Two-Live Crew Job and I realized: Apollo's sorta just staying there for a good amount of time when he could be getting the painting and leaving. This is what happened.





	Apollo's Story

Apollo’s the best there is at what he does. He’s a grifter and a thief all rolled into one. He realizes that it may be a bit cocky of him to believe that he is the best, but he’s more than willing to find someone that is better than him. It would be the most amazing thing to meet someone like him. Even if it would mean that he’d get dethroned from infamy.

When he meets Parker he’s pleasantly surprised. She’s a thief, and one of the best ones he’s ever met. He would’ve, and has, loved to sit down with her and discuss her methods in contrast to his. The first time they met was in the subways of New York. He had been with Archie at the time, a teenager meeting with the world’s greatest thief. He learned quite a bit from his brief stay with Archie and was intrigued at the blonde girl’s attempt to steal from his mentor. Luckily Archie took her in and, as you probably know, trained her. They met and they would pickpocket people together as a tag-team… Never learning each other’s names but, it was enough. He stayed a month after Parker came. It was truly a lovely time, and extremely informative. But Apollo was getting restless, he was never one for staying in one place for long. So he left, giving Archie a goodbye and didn’t look back.

Apollo dyed his hair a lighter color eventually to a light brown… The dark brown of his youth really just highlighted his balding areas as he grew into an adult. Besides, he liked it better when it was light. He vaguely remembered blonde hair but he never let it bother him that he didn’t remember, he was a busy guy with things to do. 

The next time the two met, they were against each other. It was Boston and Apollo was part of a whiz mob, not being alone like he usually was. They nearly got into a pickpocket fight. Something in the back of his mind always was on the alert around her. It was sometime when they were awkwardly laying in the air vents talking about birds that he realized she was Archie’s other student. Then his mind went into overdrive and he realized that Parker probably had something else up her sleeve. So he went along with the plan. He probably could’ve stopped her, he was tempted to, really. But he watched her flip over the lasers, mildly concerned at a few points that she wouldn’t make it across, and let her think she was duping him. Apollo wasn’t necessarily certain as to why he was letting her win, but something in the back of his mind, that seemed to always be prevalent when she was around, told him to let her. She needed the win. Her entire team needed the win. So later in the bar, he decided to falter and let her win again at lock picking. Her eyes widened just marginally when she realized who Apollo was… And all Apollo could do was grin.  
“You.” She whispered almost conspiratorially. “You were Archie’s other student. You were the one who was with us for about a month before taking off. He said you were restless and in need of a grounding life that he couldn’t provide.”  
“Took you that long to realize it, huh?” Apollo gave her his best smirk, fixing his fedora.  
“You let us win.” Parker said, again staring at him.  
“Your man, Nate, he needed it. Don’t tell him I let you guys win… Okay? I don’t need Nathan Ford after me… Again.” Apollo gave her another smirk.  
“Alright…” She said, and then she walked over to “Nate.”  
Apollo was mildly concerned with Parker’s association with this group and the barely functioning alcoholic. He kept tabs on her after that, they actually dated for a while. He met the crew personally and decided that he liked most of them… Even Eliot who seemed to give Apollo death glares on a daily basis. Sophie gave him the speech “Hurt her you die” speech like if he was a high-schooler. Apollo realized somewhere along these lines that Parker was in good hands… Not necessarily with Nate, but with the other three, she’d be fine. It was an amazing two months, but Apollo was getting the itch to run and move. He fought it for the longest time. Sophie gave him some spiel about having commitment issues. Apollo couldn’t fight it and decided it was time for him to move to the next town. This time he said goodbye to Parker and left, sad but accepting that he wouldn’t be a major factor in her life. His nature versus hers would make it impossible for either of them settle down with each other. Sophie and Eliot never came after him so he assumed that Parker took the break up in stride. 

Apollo continued “watching” from afar and knew that Parker and the hacker, Hardison, hooked up. He briefly wondered if he should settle down when he heard this. An all too familiar pang of loneliness spread throughout him as he remembered the moments before he ran away from home. He shook it off though, he knew that he probably would never be able to settle down in one place until death so he just kept doing his thing and wondering how things would work out if he found another restless spirit to join him. 

He was called up one day for this job with Venezuela and their governmental secrets… Apollo briefly thumbed through the file, he didn’t really read the information that much. He’d kept up with Archie and kept tabs on the slippery Leverage Incorporated and knew that this was in their town. He respectfully declined and told them to find some other two-bit bozo.

They did. Apollo had a good laugh at what ended up happening. 

He met a woman, Ava. She was nice and all… But he wasn’t sure if she was the right one. He’d stopped in Las Vegas for some easy pickings after a little too close of a call involving gang members and a particularly nasty beating. Although, Apollo didn’t move for more than half a year. It was the most grounded and centered he’d felt in a long time. Reluctantly though, he had to go back to work. They were attempting long distance though. 

Parker called him one day. Needless to say, Apollo was extremely surprised. He felt his ego inflating when she told him he was her first choice in another thief. Apollo was trying to keep his distance, though and decided to turn the offer down and let her turn to Archie for help instead of himself. It was the right thing to do. The irony of that statement was not lost on him. Maybe Nate’s crazy ideals rubbed off on him or something. 

Apollo came back to Las Vegas. He wasn’t sure why. He had five jobs lined up that would keep him occupied. But he came to see Ava. Long-distance sucked... And he wanted to be there for Ava. For the first time in a long time he wanted to go home to the same person and the same place every day. The idea didn’t make him want to run for cover.

He realized he was actually in love.

This was certainly unexpected but he downscaled the heavy stuff to be with Ava at his side. They still traveled quite a bit for his work, but it was considerably less than before. And they went sight seeing. Apollo, somewhat begrudgingly, admitted that it was nice having someone and having a home that he could always return to. What really shocked him was that Parker was the new head of the Leverage team. Nathan Ford and Sophie Deveraux of all people left the game. They needed a grifter and another thief. Parker had called Apollo up. And, against Apollo’s better judgment, he agreed to be the stand in until they could find a better person. 

Sophie and Nate visited every now and then. He had mixed feelings about them. He liked them as people but Sophie always gave him knowing looks whenever she met him. Briefly it occurred to him that he was definitely going soft with them and Ava… He also briefly wondered if he should run. Sophie was the one to sit him down and hit him over the head and give him a stern talking to. There was a huge surprise when Ava and Sophie met. 

Ava was old friends with Sophie. And that’s how Apollo found out what Ava did for a living, she was a grifter. 

He ended up staying, even attending the wedding. Ava had been invited and brought him along as a plus one. Weird how things turn out. 

He and Ava got married. Small ceremony, just them and some family, people he hadn’t seen in years. He got a few glares from the Leverage gang for not inviting them but they left them alone for the most part. They had found a replacement and Apollo wasn’t staying around any longer than he had to. He missed the desert. 

He was retired and moved to Las Vegas permanently with Ava at his side. He even had a kid. He lost contact with the Leverage folks eventually, getting out of the game when Ava told him of her pregnancy. He was wealthy enough to sustain them all on staying home, and that’s what they did, for awhile at least. He became a magician because he eventually got bored. Even if he did settle down, that didn’t mean he still didn’t need to do something. 

Apparently people liked the Gentleman Thief schtick that he did. It was quite popular, Apollo grew to infamy in the magician world. 

He was old, his kid had moved out and was some sort of neuroscientist. He and Ava had a house in the suburbs. Not that it was any of his business but he called Parker up. She and the gang visited. They sat on the front porch playing chess. Nate was trying to beat Apollo, having learned that Apollo let them win so many years ago. Apollo got absolutely destroyed and he didn’t have the heart to tell Nate that he never learned how to play. Parker was annoyed that she couldn’t move as well as she used to. Apollo watched Sophie and Hardison try to show her why old age was a good thing. Eliot and Nate were reminiscing about the best cons they pulled. Eventually Parker conceded the argument. Apollo watched with Ava at the group’s antics. This was nothing like how predicted his life would turn out, but for what it was worth, he thought it turned out pretty well.


End file.
